Acknowledgements and Thanks

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, Florence and Ralph Willoya, for giving me the knowledge that you carry about plants. And for giving me the blood that runs in your bodies, so that I might carry on your legacy.

Thank you Maggie Olson: My honorary grandma, best friend to my grandma. Your knowledge and wisdom is scattered throughout this collection. As are your humor and joy. You have made this possible and I am always in your debt.

Time, a poem by Gene willoya, my uncle who died in 1989Thank you Agnes Amorak, you shared your meals and your knowledge with me. I will always remember you at fish camp with you sisters, Nuz and Alice, sitting around laughing. You shared your "aluibak" with me.

Thank you to the adults who helped me: Kathy and Tommy Punguk, who gave us a place to stay when we needed it; Laura and Tonashay Esparza who lives close to the earth; Debbie Amorak, daughter of Agnes, who teaches the children about Iñupiaq culture and shared with me her knowledge of plants.

Thank you to the children who followed me around town in search of plants. You are great field assistants: my cousins, Leah and Randall Willoya and Renee and Donna Brown; my nephew, Dwight Amaktoolik; and the Henry children; Brenda, Wayne and Annett. Thank you to all the children who bring joy and laughter to my life in Golovin. You are all the leaders of tomorrow; you will carry on this knowledge so that your children can know how to live off the land. You are the promise that tomorrow will be better than today.

Thank you to my number one field assistant, first class editor, and my husband, Bill Wood. You take beautiful pictures and you made the stay in Golovin fun and adventuous.